August 2014 California Department of Fish and Wildlife Calendar

Weekends — Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve. Docent-led walks are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Binoculars and bird books are available for the public to borrow at no cost. The visitor center and main overlook are fully accessible. Day use fee is $4.32 per person, age 16 and older. Groups of 10 or more should schedule a separate tour. For more information, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/er/region4/elkhorn.html.

CDFW Climate College, CDFW is offering the second year of its Climate College in 2014. This course focuses on how climate change affects the state’s marine resources and seeks to enhance participants’ understanding of marine-related climate change science, potential impacts to species and habitats and the implications for marine region management and planning. The course consists of a seven-part lecture series and people can participate in person or via WebEx. For more information, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/Climate_and_Energy/Climate_Change/Climate_College/ or email climatechange@wildlife.ca.gov. For the course schedule and class registration, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/Climate_and_Energy/Climate_Change/Climate_College.

1 — The Northern California Recreational Red Abalone Fishery Reopens Aug.1 and Continues through Nov. 30. The fishery is closed in July to give abalone populations a respite during a period when fishing activities would be very high. New regulations for the year include an 8 a.m. start time which reduces opportunities to take abalone during early morning low tides, a closure in the Fort Ross area and reductions in the abalone card limit (18 abalone allowed per year for Mendocino County and counties to the north and a total of nine abalone allowed per year for Sonoma and Marin counties). For more information, please visit the Abalone webpage at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/invertebrate/abalone.asp.

1 — Recreational Pacific Halibut Fishery Is Closed For the Month of August. Recreational fishing for Pacific halibut off California is closed Aug.1 through Aug. 31, and will reopen on Sept. 1 and continue through Oct. 31. For more information, please visit the Pacific halibut page at: www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pacifichalibut.asp.

2-10 — California Invasive Species Action Week. The purpose of Action Week is to increase public awareness of invasive species issues and promote public participation in the fight against California’s invasive species and their impacts on our natural resources. To find an organized volunteer effort or activity near you, or for information on participating independently, please visit the Action Week webpage at www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/actionweek and check out the complete Schedule of Events. For more information, please call (916) 654-4267 or email Valerie.Cook- Fletcher@wildlife.ca.gov.

2 — California Invasive Species Action Week “Learn Your Local Invaders” Field Outing, 9 a.m. at the Nimbus Hatchery Visitor Center, 2001 Nimbus Road, Gold River (95670). Join CDFW staff for a short hike down to the American River to check crayfish traps. Learn how to identify invasive crayfishes and invasive plants, and how to inspect and clean shoes and gear to ensure that people are not transporting aquatic hitchhikers or invasive plant seeds. For more information, please call (916) 654-4267, email Valerie.Cook-Fletcher@wildlife.ca.gov or visit www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/actionweek.

4 — California Invasive Species Action Week “Learn Your Local Invaders” Field Outing, 9 a.m. at the Nimbus Hatchery Visitor Center, 2001 Nimbus Road, Gold River (95670). Join CDFW staff for a short hike down to the American River to check crayfish traps. Learn how to identify invasive crayfishes and invasive plants, and how to inspect and clean shoes and gear to ensure that people are not transporting aquatic hitchhikers or invasive plant seeds. For more information, please call (916) 654-4267, email Valerie.Cook-Fletcher@wildlife.ca.gov or visit www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/actionweek.

5 — California Invasive Species Action Week Invasive Species “Film Festival,” 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Nimbus Hatchery Visitor Center, 2001 Nimbus Road, Gold River (95670). Watch informative videos about invasive species prevention, invasive species that are impacting California and harmful invasive species that CDFW is working to keep out of the state. Check out the new invasive species coloring and fact sheets and take part in other activities as well. For more information, please call (916) 654-4267, email Valerie.Cook-Fletcher@wildlife.ca.gov, or visit www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/actionweek.

5 — Fourth installment of the Speaker Series, 7 p.m. at the Nimbus Hatchery Visitor Center, 2001 Nimbus Road, Gold River (95670). CDFW Invasive Species Program Environmental Scientist Valerie Cook Fletcher will present on invasive species of the American River and their pathways of spread. Jonathan Rose, Ph.D. candidate in Ecology, UC-Davis, will present on the status, biology and potential impacts of (non-native) Nerodia watersnakes in California. For more information, please call (916) 358-2884 or visit the hatchery online at www.facebook.com/NimbusHatchery.

5 — CDFW Public Workshop on Lead Bullet Ban Implementation, 7 to 8:30 p.m., CDFW South Coast Regional Office, 3883 Ruffin Road, San Diego (92123). A CDFW representative will detail a proposed implementation plan. Following the short presentation, interested parties can make comments and provide input that will help shape CDFW’s final recommendation to the California Fish and Game Commission, which CDFW anticipates presenting at the Commission’s meeting in Sacramento in September. For more information, please contact Dolores Duarte at (858) 467-2702.

7 — California Invasive Species Action Week Invasive Species “Film Festival,” 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Nimbus Hatchery Visitor Center, 2001 Nimbus Road, Gold River (95670). Watch informative videos about invasive species prevention, invasive species that are impacting California and harmful invasive species that CDFW is working to keep out of the state and take part in other activities as well. For more information, please call (916) 654-4267, email Valerie.Cook-Fletcher@wildlife.ca.gov, or visit www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/actionweek.

9 — California Invasive Species Action Week Volunteer Invasive Plant Removal Effort, 9 a.m. to noon at the Nimbus Hatchery Visitor Center, 2001 Nimbus Road, Gold River (95670). Join CDFW and Department of Food and Agriculture staff and American River Parkway Foundation volunteers in removing invasive plants from around sidewalks, bike trails and in the parkway. Bring gloves, wear close-toed shoes, and long sleeves may be preferred attire. For more information, please call (916) 654-4267, email Valerie.Cook-Fletcher@wildlife.ca.gov, or visit www.dfg.ca.gov/invasives/actionweek.

12 — CDFW Public Workshop on Lead Bullet Ban Implementation, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Department of General Services Building, 2550 Mariposa Mall, Fresno (93721). A CDFW representative will detail a proposed implementation plan. Following the short presentation, interested parties can make comments and provide input that will help shape CDFW’s final recommendation to the California Fish and Game Commission, which CDFW anticipates presenting at the Commission’s meeting in Sacramento in September. For more information, please contact Greg Gerstenberg at (209) 826-3464.

16 — Public Outreach Meeting Regarding Northern San Joaquin Valley Type A Wildlife Areas, 9 a.m. to noon, Grassland Water District Office, 200 W. Willmott Avenue, Los Banos (93635). The meeting will provide licensed hunters with updates on habitat conditions, availability of water for wetlands, and possible impacts to Type A hunting programs on public lands, and allow them to make comments and recommendations. State wildlife areas to be discussed are Mendota, Los Banos, Volta and North Grasslands, including the Salt Slough, China Island, Gadwall and Mud Slough units. For more information and to arrange seating, please email Sean.Allen@Wildlife.ca.gov.

19 — CDFW Public Workshop on Lead Bullet Ban Implementation, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Chaffey College, 9375 Ninth Street, Rancho Cucamonga (91730). A CDFW representative will detail a proposed implementation plan. Following the short presentation, interested parties can make comments and provide input that will help shape CDFW’s final recommendation to the California Fish and Game Commission, which CDFW anticipates presenting at the Commission’s meeting in Sacramento in September. For more information, please contact Katrina Banda at (909) 466-8462.

25 — Rearing Salmon in the Yolo Bypass Lecture, 1-3 p.m. in the Natural Resources Building Auditorium, 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento (95814). This lecture is part of the Conservation Lecture Series which introduces participants to California’s diverse wildlife. Carson Jeffres, the field and laboratory director for the UC Davis Center for Watershed Science, will discuss research on the use of harvested rice fields as potential salmon nurseries. Since 2012, Jeffres has been studying whether flooded post-harvest rice fields can act as a surrogate for this lost habitat. He has found that juvenile Chinook salmon on flooded rice fields grow at some of the fastest freshwater growth rates of juvenile salmon ever found in California. This free event will also be webcast live. To register, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/lectures. For more information, please contact margaret.mantor@wildlife.ca.gov.